So many trees planted in Taklamakan Desert that it's turned into a carbon sink

https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/plants/china-has-planted-so-many-trees-around-the-taklamakan-desert-that-its-turned-this-biological-void-into-a-carbon-sink

79•Brajeshwar•2h ago

Comments

normalaccess•1h ago

This is the way

blondie9x•1h ago

Are you able to find it on Google Maps? Having a hard time locating it.

"Based on the results of this study, the Taklamakan Desert, although only around its rim, represents the first successful model demonstrating the possibility of transforming a desert into a carbon sink," Yung said.

stevenjgarner•1h ago

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Taklamakan+Desert/@38.8709...

triceratops•1h ago

There's definitely a ring of green around it. If that's all human-made, good for them.

aavci•35m ago

Maybe it's me but I couldn't see it.

triceratops•6m ago

Go to the link in GP's post then zoom out.

tyre•20m ago

I believe this is an example https://maps.app.goo.gl/aXtwERHb2pVxEVnV6

Those rows of greenery are the trees planted. They do a ton of this by hand, it's really fascinating.

thehamkercat•35m ago

This? https://maps.app.goo.gl/kATdsjnKnkWACzoc6

culi•1h ago

China accounts for more than 25% of the global net increase in leaf area between 2000 and 2017, according to NASA data

https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/plants/china-has-pl...

China's also been a major supporter of the Great Green Wall of Africa providing technology and funding.

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3302068/why-...

1970-01-01•1h ago

So not really a carbon sink but a carbon perimeter.

pfdietz•1h ago

I wonder how the albedo has changed, and evaporation of water there.

engineer_22•50m ago

That was my thought too

Is it possible the trees can change the climate in the region? Can trees dampen regional water flux, seed clouds down range?

WillAdams•48m ago

Yes, they do, which has had implications for rainfall patterns:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/climate-change/china-accid...

(if that doesn't come up, search terms to find it were "news china rainfall forest tree planting change")

culi•7m ago

In fact as much as 50% of the Amazon's rain can be attributed to the trees themselves. Both through evapotranspiration strategies and increased cloud-seeding particles

However, I think the more relevant dynamic for this region is the water-holding capacity of the soil. If you get lost in a desert you are more likely to drown than to die of thirst because the water-holding capacity of the "soil" is almost nothing making flash floods likely. But soil that is at an advanced stage of ecological succession will be dominated by mycorrhizal fungi that produce glomalose. This type of soil can hold as much as 50x more water than "dead" soil

yanhangyhy•1h ago

Alipay has a function called ant forest, you use the app more often, you get more credit. And when it reach certain amount, aliaba will plant a small tree in the desert. People used to be crazy about this shit, but not for now. I guess the main reason is that these effort are good activities, but it didn’t help that much, compared to the effort from the government. At least on the this topic, they did a pretty good job, it last for decades, and it will countinue.

Alipay has another function called zhima credit score, which is related to the ant forest, you can rent bikes and power banks with no deposit when you have a high score. and it’s the base block of so called ‘social credit score’ for Chinese people

Twirrim•10m ago

Projects around planting trees have often failed, in part from the choice of tree, in part because it takes more than just planting a tree to restore the habitat. It's generally better to work with the existing flora to promote growth and expansion, and/or help the stumps of trees that have been cut-down grow fresh again (e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5g60g9vmlY)

aavci•37m ago

How much deforestation over the past decades has been reversed and is deforestation currently under control?

woodpanel•14m ago

So to plant a row of trees a bulldozer has to level sand dunes. I somehow doubt the exhaust from this process is factored into the CO2 sink calculation.